20 Jan 2011

Do What You Can - Advice from Jim Rohn

Apple-scale
If you want to be successful there's one easy step to take: Read at least one non-fiction book a month. It's one of the secrets unlocked by Dr. Thomas Stanley's study of millionaires (outlined in his book "The Millionaire Mind"). You know what I did when I learned that? I read two books a month (I wanted to be a multi-millionaire). However, the secret to the success experienced by this small group of people was not just in the number of books they consumed. There was much more to the formula!

Nevertheless this is where I started. The great thing about that success tip is that it's easy. To quote Jim Rohn's definition, "By easy I mean something I could do. I thought if I could do it it must be easy." 

There's an important key left out of that fact though. It's not enough to consume the best material in your field. It's not enough to understand the best programming paradigms, or how to diversify your investments properly. Learning these things can completely change your life, but not without action.

One of the 5 keys Jim Rohn outlines in his "Challenge To Succeed" is Action. What if eating an apple a day really did keep the doctor away? Would you do it? Before you say yes too quickly think about the easy things you know you should be doing.  Exercising more? Budgeting? Spending time with your family? (Reading more?)

Unless you put a good idea into labor it works no miracle. 

- Jim Rohn

Understanding that neglect is keeping me from achieving what I set out to achieve was a tough lesson in this series. How many great ideas have I learned over the last 2 years that I never got up and put into practice? How much closer to my goals could I be if I just stopped neglecting the easy activities that will get me there? You should do it. You could do it. You don't do it? That's formula for disaster.

Do what you can.